1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to heating engines and more specifically to an apparatus and method for heating cold cylinders, batteries, and oil sumps.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
At low temperatures it is often difficult to start internal combustion engines, due to reduced vaporization of fuel, thickened engine oil, reduced battery power, and frost formation on spark plugs. Further, starting an engine in cold weather can cause excessive wear and damage to its internal parts, because of poor oil flow. Wear and damage may also be caused by differing rates of expansion of mating parts made from dissimilar metals. For example, the aluminum pistons expand at a faster rate during startup than the steel cylinders do, which may cause the piston to scuff the cylinder wall.
A common method of preheating aircraft and other engines is to force heated air into an engine compartment. This method is inconvenient because it requires time consuming set-up. The equipment is also not small and light enough to be carried in the aircraft or vehicle. Using a combustion type heater as opposed to an electric heater may be unsafe due to the open flame which heats the forced air.
There are several patents directed at preheating engines. U.S. Pat. No. 3,953,707 to Tanis discloses a method of preheating air cooled aircraft engines by insertion of electric heating devices into blind holes in a cylinder head, normally provided for the reception of thermocouples. The drawback to this design is that the heating element and a thermocouple cannot be simultaneously inserted into the same blind hole. This invention cannot be installed in engines which have no thermocouple holes in the cylinder heads. U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,673 to Tanis discloses an aircraft intake pipe bolt heater. A drawback to both Tanis patents is that both designs directly heat the cylinder head, not the cylinder.
Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art for an apparatus and method for heating cold engines which does not require extensive set-up, does not require extensive disassembly, does not require storage, but provides direct heating of the cylinder, battery, and oil sump.